Fan discussion: What kind of Seattle Seahawks fan are you?

(Editor’s note: The following is a guest discussion post by Field Gulls commenter Kasey McKillip)

I don’t mean how passionate you are, how many games you attend, or whether you take losing as a personal affront that calls for some quiet time. I mean something more striking: when you come across a number, which Seattle Seahawk pops into your mind?

When you see 54, do you immediately think of Bobby Wagner, or does Grant Feasel look? When you see the 3, is Russell Wilson a no-brainer, or have you moved on to Nick Emmanwori? Richard Sherman looks like 25 is a little cagey, unless you have an inexplicable crush on Robert Blackmon.

And 24? Come on. Is there anything else to talk about? Marshawn Lynch played just 83 regular-season games for Seattle, but longevity has never been the only way to measure a football player. Some people occupy a roster spot. Others occupy a permanent location in your imagination.

The same principle applies to 37 and Shaun Alexander, 29 and Earl Thomas, and 31 and Kam Chancellor. These are not just numbers attached to men who have played football. They’re shorthand for an entire season of your life, complete with triumphs, disappointments, arguments and the occasional moment when you’re convinced the Seahawks are about to ruin your entire weekend.

Then there’s 89, which presents a legitimate problem. Brian Blades or Doug Baldwin? Both are perfectly defensible answers. You can make a case for either, and the interesting part isn’t necessarily which player you pick. This is what your choice reveals about the games you watch, the teams you remember and the particular version of the Seahawks that lives in your head.

Number 4 is another odd case. You probably remember Trent Dilfer’s time in Seattle. Perhaps, like me, your mind now goes to Michael Dickson, whose punting has somehow made a position that most people hardly think about into something worth watching.

And 16? It will take some time to get used to seeing someone else wearing it. Tyler Lockett left the kind of legacy that makes a jersey number feel less like an item of sports equipment and more like a family heirloom.

Because that’s what these numbers become. Players are temporary caretakers, doing their best to represent a number before passing it on. Each new player adds another chapter, whether that chapter is legendary, forgettable or something only one person in your friendship group remembers.

Maybe 1 will take you back to the days when Warren Moon was in Seattle. Maybe 5 conjures Charlie Frye. These aren’t necessarily the names that appear in highlight packages or feature prominently in conversations about the franchise’s greatest players. They are the only names your memory has decided to keep.

And that, I think, is the beauty of following a football team for so many years. The longer you watch, the more complex these associations become. Numbers make up histories. Memories overlap. A jersey can connect you to a championship, a terrible season, a favorite player or an afternoon spent watching a game with someone who is gone.

Some numbers, of course, are retired entirely: 45 for Kenny Easley, 71 for Walter Jones, 80 for Steve Largent and 96 for Cortez Kennedy. Because of their success, the numbers have become inseparable from their names, leaving the Seahawks with no intention of asking anyone else to fill those jerseys.

Which brings me back to the original question.

What kind of Seahawks fan are you?

The answer may not have much to do with how much fun you have. It can be found in the numbers you recognize, the players you remember and the names that pop up before you have time to think.